The Wrong Train
by rapidlydoom
Summary: When you get on the wrong train some say it's bad luck. But if you jump off you die. So you might as well just ride through it.
1. Spring Rains

Spring is wonderful.

The colors. The sun. Everything is so wonderful.

In the spring there are humming birds and bees but the bees won't sting you because they are so busy humming with joy over the flowers.

The best thing is the rain. It gives the thirsty desert ground a drink. It can give a bath to an animal that hasn't seen water in months. It gives you an excuse to stay in all day with a friend. Laughing. Giggling. Watching Disney movies that you almost forgot about and having a friend to pat your back while you cry a bit at the endings.

Friends are the best things aren't they?

But you know who wouldn't know? Equius.

Equius doesn't have any friends.

He tried making a friend once and they tased him. He tried again and he was put in a grapple hold with his face pushed against the concrete.

He doesn't have the will to even utter a curse word. How could be have the will to harm you.

It's not his fault that he looks like a criminal. It's not his fault that no one can like his face.

It's not his fault, no matter how many times you tell him that it is his fault. It's just his dumb luck's fault. His dumb luck and his ugly face.

That dumb stupid luck and his big ugly face always making bad things happen.

Equius is driving down the road. being sure not to do anything against the law. But then he got pulled over for looking "suspicious." Then they asked for his citizenship papers so he gave it to him. Then they searched his car for drugs. Then they searched his clothes for drugs. And when they found nothing they wondered if they should arrest him anyway but then an emergency call came so they left.

The rain fell from the sky hard. Like liquid pebbles tormenting him. Giving him the beating those cops forgot about.

He opened the door to his car and closed it with a slam. All he wants to do is go home and go to sleep. Sleep away his life. Sleep and sleep and sleep until he forgets that he's even sleeping. Is that how people die? He hopes that it is. And he hopes that it happens to him soon.

He heard a loud clunk. 'What could that be?' he thought. He gave an annoyed grunt and he tried to pull over but he did it to fast. Fast as a speeding train. A wild spinning train with no tracks to guide it.

And then loud screech. And then the car span out of control.

A loud, time slowing screech. But not too slow. Even if this event went at the speed of a snail it would have been way too fast.

A loud screech and woman. The nicest, sweetest woman you may ever meet. Got ran over.

A loud screech and a man. The nicest, sweetest man you may ever meet. Suddenly became the terrible, cruel man that ran over her.


	2. The Horse Is The Luckiest And Unlickiest

Equius was born in the year of the horse.

The year of the horse, if you have this sign you get these two choices. Have really good luck or really bad luck.

They're not even choices that you can pick. Just things that are given to you by a mailman or something but the mailman doesn't tell you what's inside so you have to open it up yourself. At first you cross your fingers and toes hoping that it will be a nice gift but what you see at the bottom is just dust. So every time you get something after that you can hope that the present can be better than the last time. And most of the time you get a better present.

But just because you get tails the first time doesn't mean you're going to get heads the second time. You might get tails forever and ever.

You get tired of forever getting nothing. You want two front teeth and you get two lumps of coal but instead of getting coal you just get air in a bag.

Then you might stop accepting the gifts that the mailman gives you.

And after a while you feel like you're being robbed. Robbed forever and ever. But who is the robber? You are. You become a thief to yourself. Refusing to have anything nice. Thinking you don't deserve it. Thinking that other people do.

This woman, lying on the ground with rain mingling with the blood on the ground. This woman with a stranger crying next to her, dialing 911 as hard and as fast as he can. She the one that deserves nice things.

But she believes that the stranger with the sad eyes and the sad face looking down on her deserves nice things too. She doesn't need presents from anybody right now. But it's nice that he gave her the present of company.

When Equius finished the call she put a hand on the stranger's face. "Why are you crying? You're not the one hurt here," she said with a weak, shaky voice. Equius just stared at her. Stared and stared. And the woman waited for him to respond but it didn't look like he has anything to say.

So she asked another question, one that most people would know the answer to, "What is your name?"

"Equius," he said. His voice seemed like tin and porcelain. Sounding rough but sounding so fragile at the same time.

Then he muttered apologies, hundreds of them. He melted into them. The apologies were echoed in the water. One apology after another after another being reflected between the droplets.

The woman patted him on the back. It's okay, it's okay, I'm not hurt that bad, see? She probably said and gave him a smile. But he didn't see her smile. His eyes were too blurred by tears and shame.

Then the ambulance came and they let Equius sit with her in there. Even if they didn't let him he would probably force himself in there anyways. But then they would probably have arrested him or something.

She told him her name eventually. She told him her name was Nepeta. She told him when she was hooked up to a hundred tubes and machines. The tubes tangling with each other and the machines making gossips composed of beeping.

By that time Equius stopped crying. By that time he felt the weight of guilt over him. By that time he noticed that she wasn't afraid of him. She didn't scream at him in fear. She didn't do what other people do when they look at him.

Then Equius smiled and she smiled back.

She drifted off to sleep after a while. And so did he.


	3. Laugh Like Fireworks

Nepeta didn't wake up.

The doctors said she wouldn't wake up for a week at the least, three months at the most. If she sleeps for more than three months, tough luck. Her insurance won't pay for anything if she's here for more than three months. That's what the doctors said. Equius said he'd pay for it. So the doctors laughed. So Equius frowned. Medical bills couldn't be that high, could they?

He scratched his neck and turned to look at Nepeta. He quickly fixed his frown to be an _almost_ smile. You know the one when you try to smile but you can't so you just make an effort to make it look like a smile? Yeah, that one.

Her body is as still as the dead. No, we shouldn't compare her to the dead. Her body is as still as a tree. Not even her hair moves when a draft comes in.

He wonders what she's dreaming about, if she's dreaming. Maybe she's in one of those dreams where you close your eyes, feel like you've been in that dream for only 5 minutes and- oops! You've overslept! He wonders if she can hear him, the doctors, or anybody. But some people can sleep through a fire alarm and not even notice it went off until they wake up. She could be having an adventure in her mind. Probably a happy one. He hopes that she won't have any bad dreams but most of what Equius hopes for never comes true.

A doctor that laughed at him, the one that laughed the loudest, came into the room. He said that Nepeta had a visitor and added that there can only be one visitor at a time. Equius know that he was lying. He could see 5 people in a room visiting someone a few rooms down. He felt if he said so he would just make the doctor roll his eyes so he just trotted off to the waiting room.

He saw a woman talking with a receptionist, he heard her say Nepeta's name. This must be the visitor, he thought.

She looked sort of strange. Her glasses which were shoved up close to her eyes were a bright red, almost like the sun on a summer's day. She wore a suit and she missed a button on it, making her look a little stupid. Only a little. She still looked smart. More than a little.

The receptionist looked over at Equius, frowned only a little, then smacked it back on to talk to the lady. "You can go in now," she said, her voice sounded like an actress trying too hard. All fake and strained. The lady stood up with a back as straight as a board and sauntered over to the door. She reached for a handle but the door was a push door. It took her a while to realize it, though. Some people were holding back their laughter, even Equius. Then she finally pushed the door and it creaked back into position. The people holding back laughter let out their giggles.

Then he heard a slup and a thud. Silence. Was that the lady? Then a booming laughter, the lady's, and everyone all laughed together. The doctors, pacients, other people waiting, and Equius. It sounded as loud as dishes crashing to the ground or fireworks exploding in the sky. Then it sort of quieted down. Some people still giggling. He thinks he heard the lady still laughing too.

Then about 10 minutes at the least, 15 at the most, the woman came out. There were tear streaks on her face, probably from laughing so hard. Yeah, he could even see the smile marks on her face. Those are definitely tears of laughter.

Would Nepeta have laughed at the scene? Probably. If she were friends with this lady, she would be the kind of gal that would always smile and laugh. That's what she would want, wouldn't she? To keep on smiling and laughing.

When Equius got home, the first thing he did was try to smile in the mirror. He decided he looked stupid and ugly, but he still practiced for about an hour at least, 3 at the most.


	4. The Blind Storyteller

The woman with the booming laugh is a regular visitor of Nepeta. Once a week, every week, she is found sitting by the girls bedside. Telling stories of all sorts.

Her name is Terezi and she is as blind and as wild as a chicken with a sack over it's head. The is the best lawyer you can find but she doesn't cater to the person convicted. She tries with all of her might to get that person in jail. She may have nabbed an innocent or more, but she'd get the real crime doer anyways. When someone gets away with a crime, they'll keep on doing it until they get put on death row. And Terezi will see through that she's the person with a noose around that person's neck.

She's been talking to one of Nepeta's visitors lately. He's really jittery and all, but he seems like a nice guy. A bit scary, with his deep voice and all, but he's kind of like a puppy with a mask of a bulldog.

She felt him wanting to ask her a question for a while now. She doesn't think that he will ask her right away, so she'll just wait.

He opened his mouth, then closed it. Trying to rack his brains for words. "I apologize for asking, but...," his voice wandered off a bit, "How did you get blind?"

She laid back a bit in her seat, "Well it's a long story, so get your ears ready Equius.

"When I was in grade school, I had this friend. She was a total jerk, but she was so fun to play with. We used to play dress up and fight each other. She'd be a criminal and I'd be the one to try to apprehend her. I never got to, though. Whatever. Back to how she got me blind. One day she said she wanted to play a game and I was like 'oooh a game how cool! ' She said that we should do an ultimate staring contest. We both would stare at the sun for a certain amount of time. Stupid, right? My friend said she would only keep one eye open so that I had to do double time. I kept her eye open when she did it. And after three minutes she was squirming and screaming that it was enough time so I let her go. So I had to look at the sun for 6 minutes straight. The whole time my vision got blurrier and blurrier until I saw nothing at all," her voice sounded flat and bland, like stale crackers, but then she giggled a little, "The funniest part is, my friend didn't realize that she was half-blind the whole time she was keeping my eyes open!" She laughed a bit more, but Equius was silent.

"Okay so, the moral of my story is don't challenge the sun to anything. The sun will always outshine you!," she laughed a bit more, but Equius still stayed silent.

She punched his shoulder lightly, "Hey, don't go all sad on me. You gotta keep on smiling." She grinned wide, showing all of her teeth. "Besides, I think you still have a question for me. Well, speak up."

"Alright," he cleared his throat a bit, "How did you fist meet Nepeta?," He found his words more easily this time, it was an easy question after all. Even if he sort of wanted to ask her next week because Terezi talked way too much. She'd interrogate him until he would be practically forced to ask the question, anyways.

"It all started when Nepeta gave me a crayon, a few days before the incident happened," she began. "It was a brilliant shade of red, I still remember the color after all these years." She smiled, mind deep with remembering, "I bet she felt so sorry for me when I went blind, and the only way she knew of helping people was to make them laugh. She used to tell me so many stories. I bet some of them she read from a book but most of them I bet she made up herself. They were all funny stories. One time I laughed so hard a doctor came in thinking I had a heart attack!" She paused for a second, feeling everyone in the waiting room anticipating what she would say.

"One of the days, I told her to take an oath. She had no idea what an oath was, but she took it anyways. And I told her that I would tell stories to her when she gets hurt. The best of the kinds. So good they could be award winning. But I would tell them to her every time I get to."

She stood up and stretched her legs a bit, "Well, it's getting late. I've got to go to bed early, talk to you later Equius." She gave him a half hug then dashed out the door. The other people waiting looked at him suspiciously. 'Why would this ugly man even get to talk to that lady?' they thought. Equius just smiled at the people staring, went to visit Nepeta again, then left. He walked with a spring in his step. Maybe his luck is turning up after all.


	5. Mr Sadface

Nepeta has a sister, more like an aunt, maybe even a mother-like figure in her life. Not a very good one but very loyal. As loyal as anyone you can think of. Maybe even too loyal. Meulin is her name. Sounds like a name of a smart girl but she doesn't make many smart choices. She is always basks herself with the wrong crowd and disappears then reappears worse shape than she was when she disappeared. She has a happy vibe about her, expected from someone related to Nepeta, and is very childish for an older woman She wears the clothes of a school girl and has her hair dyed in a bright green color.

She visits Nepeta every once in a while and when she does she always talks and talks. Equius was so startled when she first heard her that he practically jumped out from his seat! Her voice is even louder than Terezi's laugh, which is fairly surprising.

"Hey you, guy with the sad face!," she hollered. "Want me to tell your fortune? About something romantic? Ooh! You would look so cute with a friend of mine's... Maybe with that other girl... No you're too strong for her, she likes very flimsy people. Well are you just gonna stare at me or are you gonna answer me? Want your fortune told? I'm a professional, I promise you! My boyfriend taught me all he knows!"

He looked at her quizzically, "Well I guess it would be fine to tell my fortune. As long as there isn't a catch."

She gave a little chuckle and beamed in reassurance, "Don't worry! I wouldn't want to trick someone as cool as you!" Then she grabbed his hand, forced it open, ran her nails over it and hummed a melody. Equius could smell her breath and she smelled like smoke but not like tobacco. A sweet smell but not overbearing. Oh great. She's high. Well isn't that nice. "It looks like there are dark clouds and," she paused and looked at the ceiling, "A magical fairy that will beat up those dark clouds!"

"Oh that's very interesting," he said stalely. Wow, she's really isn't all up there, is she? Even so, Equius felt that he should humor her, "Anything else?"

She hummed a bit more, "Yes, I see something else. A warning? Yes, a warning. The warning says not to get too comfortable. Why not? I think being comfortable is very good. The messiahs are very tricky today. I wonder why?"

"The messiahs?"

"You know, the people that tell you what's happening and makes things happen," she looked out the window, "And the messiahs say that my boyfriend is here. See you later Mr. Sadface!" Then she jumped off her chair and skipped out of the hospital. And lo and behold, he was there.

He looked like he was fished out of a circus, probably in the freak show part of the acts. His lips were tied-up with thread, his hair all messy and matted, he wore a skeleton costume (which made a bit of sense since he looked like one), his face was covered in paint like a clown but like one of those clowns you see in haunted houses during Holloween night. He looked scary but a fun kind of scary, like a prank. Equius just looked like a scary that you wouldn't want to walk behind you at night.

Meulin jumped into his arms and stood on her tip-toes to kiss his cheek and he returned with a kiss to her forehead. Then they both jumped into their car and drove away.

Equius wished that he had love like that guy, but who really needs love when you have friends? Can Equis even count Nepeta as his friend? Well, he has Terezi as a friend, that makes one friend. One friend is all you need anyway.


End file.
